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TRANSCRIPT
- Triple Zero says calls from Optus landlines are down after nationwide outage.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives in Raratonga for the Pacific Islands Forum.
- And in sport, The Matildas and Socceroos set to share future World Cup Prize money 50-50.
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Triple Zero are advising Optus customers to call the helpline from their mobiles, as Australia continues to be affected by a nationwide outage of mobile phone and internet services.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has said in a national conference on the outage, which was first reported at around 4am this morning, that Triple Zero is operating normally on Optus mobile devices, but not on landlines.
Optus CEO Kelley Bayer Rosmarin has told ABC Sydney the company is still pursuing every possible avenue after the "fundamental issue" was not yet resolved.
The outage has continued to affect millions of Australian customers and essential services, with Service New South Wales call-centres and phone lines at hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne's north also down.
Minister Rowland has said while the cause of the outage has not been diagnosed, it has been caused by a "deep" systemic issue.
"It has occurred deep within the network, it has wide ramifications across mobile, fixed and broadband services for Optus customers. Secondly we now understand, and this has been confirmed that calls to Triple Zero the emergency service cannot be made from Optus landline services."
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The Palestine Red Crescent Society has accused Israeli forces of targeting a humanitarian convoy in Gaza City.
The humanitarian organisation says the convoy of five trucks was carrying lifesaving medical supplied to health facilities such as Al Quds hospital when it came under fire damaging two trucks and wounding a driver.
So far, the Israeli military's relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed more than 10,000 people, around 40 per cent of them children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Despite the toll on civilians, Israel's leadership has refused a ceasefire in the region saying they will not think of stopping the violence until all hostages held by Hamas militants are released.
During an interview with the US ABC News network, Benjamin Netanyahu says small humanitarian pauses may be possible.
"Well, there'll be no ceasefire, general ceasefire in Gaza without the release of the hostages. As far as tactical, little pauses, an hour here, an hour there, we've had them before. I suppose we'll check the circumstances in order to enable goods, humanitarian goods to come in or our hostages, individual hostages to leave. But I don't think there's going to be a general ceasefire. It's not that I don't think. I think it will hamper the war effort. It will hamper our effort to get our hostages out."
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived in Rarotonga for the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting this week.
The Prime Minister will join leaders from 18 Pacific nations to agree steps to deliver the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent as they look to show that signs of division in the Pacific are in the past.
Australia has put much stock in the 2022 agreement, which will cover climate change, security challenges, and nuclear issues, as part of a renewed diplomatic focus on its home region.
The P-I-F has previously been hampered by threatened walk-outs and no-shows, with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare a noticeable absentee this year following closening ties between the Pacific island nation and China.
Mr Albanese says security in the region, including China's ties with the Solomon Islands, will form part of discussions.
"One of the things about the Pacific Island Forum is that we have recognised in last year's statement the importance of the Pacific family, looking after our security interests of the region. But the Pacific family is also made up of sovereign states, so we respect the fact that sovereign states have a right to make their decisions."
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In football,
The Socceroos and Matildas look set to be rewarded with a first-ever 50-50 split in prize money from World Cup performances.
Football Australia and the players' union are expected to announce a new four-year collective bargaining agreement today the previous deal lapsed in October.
As well as an increase in the share of prize money, Matildas players look set to benefit from a change in their contractual agreements with FA.
Female players could be given standard call-up and match fees, equal to those enjoyed by the Socceroos, rather than receiving payment via tiered annual contracts, which currently see tier-one contracted Matildas earn $110,000 a year.
